Dina Manzo Opens Up About Her Return To RHONJ, Says Fame Changed Both Her And Caroline

Dina Manzo is opening up about her shocking return to The Real Housewives of New Jersey in a new interview with NorthJersey. Dina, who is busy planning a fundraiser for her charity, Project Ladybug, started by speaking about the status of her marriage to Tommy Manzo. When asked if she was divorcing Tommy, Dina said, “We still live together. I announced my separation a year ago, but Tommy and I have a very special love for each other that will never go away. So, we live in the same house. We love each other. We respect each other. And that’s the way it’s gonna stay whether we get divorced or whether we stay together. I think it’s a really nice place to be with each other.” Adding, “We’re just seeing how things go right now. But there’s always love and respect between us.”

Next, Dina touches on her estrangement from her sister, Caroline Manzo. “All I could say is that everybody’s on their journey in life, and it doesn’t mean anyone is any better than anybody else, but we’re in different places. So, sometimes it’s better to keep your distance while you’re working through some stuff,” DIna explains. “I’m not gonna lie. I think this world of, I don’t want to call it entertainment, but the fame of it all has affected both of us in different ways.”

“So, I’m thinking, 15 minutes come and go. And I understand we may be stretching it here and there. She just did her own pilot and I may be going back [to ‘RHONJ’]. But at the end of the day, after all that is done, we’re gonna see through it all. … I love my family. I always will. There’s distance right now, and we’ll fix that off camera,” Dina insists.

As far as her return to RHONJ, Dina says, “I can say that I was asked back. I was told who was coming back and who was not, and I’m considering it.” She reveals that she had also been asked back for the fifth season, but declined the offer. “I never wanted to come back to ‘Housewives’ and air my family’s drama. I love my parents way too much to get involved with that, and I see the pain that Teresa has endured.”

Dina said the timing just felt right this time around. “I know it won’t be all smooth sailing. But the timing just feels right,” she says, adding that Lexi is a Senior in High School. “She’s not that 12-year-old that was heavily influenced. … I didn’t want her to feel that that was a normal life at that point. Now, she’s going off on her own. And she’s excited about being on [‘RHONJ’], too, because she feels she has a message for her peers as well.”

AllThingsRH

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